News & updates

List of 5 news stories.

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  Lessons from Moccasins

  3/7/2025
  Students learned valuable lessons and skills and came away with hand-crafted footwear following a weeks-long moccasin-making workshop run by Outdoor Education Instructor and Teacher Mr. Devin Ryan.

   

  Mr. Ryan has received direct instruction in leatherwork from an accomplished Annishnaabe artisan, and wanted to share those skills, and the appreciation that comes from learning them, with Shawnigan students.

   

  While Mr. Ryan was studying Outdoor Recreation, Parks and Tourism at Lakehead University in Thunder Bay, Ontario, the university’s Indigenous student centre had an open-door policy and offered moccasin-making workshops with Helen Pelletier of the nearby Fort William First Nation. Through those workshops, Mr. Ryan learned leatherwork and how to bead, and most importantly, patience.

   

  “There are lots of lessons to be learned from perseverance,” he said.

   
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  Spanish 12 Fiesta

  3/7/2025
  Spanish 12 students capped off a chapter about recipes by preparing several food items from Spain and Latin America in a special event hosted by Señora Andrea Carballo last Friday.

   

  After studying several recipes from Spanish-speaking countries, the students chose four to make, then used their lunch break and Spanish class period to travel to Señora Carballo’s home off campus to create the foods.

   

  The selections included pupusas, a Salvadoran tortilla filled with beans and cheese (and meat, for the non-vegetarians); guacamole, a popular avocado-based dip that originated in Mexico; and tortillas españolas, a Spanish omelette made with eggs and potatoes. For dessert, the students made plátanos en tentación – plantains caramelized with cinnamon and sugar.

   
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  A Rewarding Deans' Dinner

  2/28/2025
  A longstanding tradition at Shawnigan, Deans' Dinner returned to the School on Tuesday, celebrating some of our top students with a special evening in the Hyde-Lay Pavilion.

   

  Historically, Deans' Dinner has been held after each assessment period to recognize students who received the top scores in terms of effort. Over the years, so many students became eligible for the criteria that the event became less extraordinary. The last time it was held, two years ago, more students attended the dinner than didn’t. Mrs. Kirsi Lupton, Academic Dean (Junior Years) noted that the dinner “fizzled out.”

   

  Recalling how special Deans' Dinner has been in the past, students pushed for its return. Earlier this year, Academic Prefect Olivia C. and the Academic Captains came forward with a proposal to bring back the event.

   
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  Courtroom Drama: Law 12 Mock Trials

  2/28/2025
  Students in Law 12 went to court this week in a series of mock trials designed to give them something close to first-hand experience of the legal system.

   

  Four different classes all tried the same made-up case involving multiple faculty members: the attempted murder of Mr. Galen Loiselle by Mr. Tom Lupton, with several other teachers (played by students) called as witnesses. The real Mr. Loiselle teaches the Law 12 course and has been using the same case for a few years, providing a unique way for the students to engage with the course work.

   

  “It’s fun for the students to play as their teachers,” noted Celeste C., who served on the jury for one of the mock trials.

   

  Although the case was entirely fictional and the students took some dramatic liberties in the portrayals of faculty members, the mock trial was taken seriously and served as an excellent learning opportunity.

   
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  "Chicago" Dazzles!

  2/21/2025
  An outstanding cast and crew, and support from some excellent staff members, helped make a dream come true for Mr. Sal Interlandi with the staging of this year’s School musical: Chicago (Teen Edition) with a three-night and one-afternoon run at Victoria’s McPherson Playhouse.

   

  “It’s such a great show,” said Mr. Interlandi, theatre teacher and director of the musical. “When I interviewed for the job here and they asked me what shows I wanted to do, I said it was one of my favourite shows. It’s always been a show I wanted to do.”

   

  Written in 1975, Chicago was based on a stage play from 1926. It has become a staple on Broadway and is the longest running current show there. It also became a movie in 2002 that won Best Picture at the 2003 Academy Awards.

   
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